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Cost of posting committee papers to Moray councillors has almost doubled

By Hazel Lawson, Local Democracy Reporter

January 20 2023, 6:00 am

Councillors will be able to give their views on two bioenergy plants proposed for sites near Elgin and Buckie. Image: DC Thomson

The cost of posting committee papers out to councillors has almost doubled since 2020.

That year Moray Council spent £494.21 having hard copies of documents sent to elected members.

In 2021 that jumped to £942.31. And from the beginning of January to the end of November last year the amount stood at £855.23.

Documents are available to elected members online, and non-confidential papers can be accessed by anyone via the council’s website.

The cost to Moray Council of sending out committee papers has risen from £494.21 to £942.31. Image: Moray Council

The figures are revealed in a response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Details on the costs of producing paper copies of agendas and reports were asked for as well as those for postage.

Although the price of printing hard copies for employees and councillors is not held, none were made for members of the public, representatives of other organisations or members of the media.

Also the council did not send out any paper documents to staff.

Postage costs double

An increase in the cost of postage, paper and ink along with bigger reports are thought to be some of the reasons for the increase.

A spokeswoman for the council said: “We don’t keep details for specific committee printing costs but there are a number of factors that can be attributed to the increase.

“The increase in Royal Mail charges for posting, increase in paper and ink costs, and also emerging from lockdown with more meetings taking place.

“The size of the agenda and the contents, ie lengthy reports, could also impact.”